We discussed some of the uses of the subjunctive mood in Level IV, Lesson 5, mainly expressing opinions, possibilities, desires, wishes, feelings, and requests.
Here, we will cover other cases in which the subjunctive mood in the present subjunctive tense ought to be used.
Expressions Starting with “Que”
The conjunction “que” can mean “whether,” or can express a wish or hope if placed in the beginning of an expression followed by the subjunctive. For example:
| Que la neige soit partout. | Let the snow be everywhere. |
| Que vous y alliez ou non, peu importe. | Whether you go or not, it doesn’t matter. |
Expressions with Conjunctions ending in “Que”
Let us examine the following expressions:
| afin que pour que | so that, in order that |
| pourvu que | provided (that) |
| à condition que | on the condition that |
| à moins que | unless |
| sans que | without (that) |
| avant que | before (that) |
| bien que quoique | although, despite that |
Such expressions are often followed by the subjunctive, for example:
| Donnez-moi la clé pour que je puisse entrer. | Give me the key so that he can get in. |
| Je ferai de mon mieux pour que vous vous amusiez. | I will do my best so that you enjoy your time. |
| À moins que vous (ne) travailliez dur, il sera difficile de vivre ici. | Unless you work hard, it will be difficult to live here. |
| Je laisserai la clé sans qu’il la voie. | I will leave the key without him seeing. |
| Avant que le jeu (ne) commence, allons faire du shopping. | Before the game starts, let’s go shopping. |
| J’irai à la gym bien que je sois fatigué. | I’ll go to the gym although I am tired. |
Notice that the “ne” after “à moins que” and “avant que” is redundant and does not affect the meaning. In daily speech, it is often dropped.
In a sense, all the expressions above indicate either doubt or a hypothetical situation, that is, non-fact statements that require the use of the subjunctive mood.
Expressions with Some Conjunctions meaning “any”
Some conjunctions end in “-que,” many of which convey the meaning of “any,” such as “whatever,” “whenever,” “wherever,” “whoever,” etc. Many of these conjunctions require the use of the subjunctive. Examples include:
| quel que (soit qui …) | any, whatever, whichever (it is that …) |
| qui que (ce soit) | whoever (it is) |
| quelqu’un (qui) | someone (who) |
| où que (tu sois) | wherever (you are) |
| rien que (je sache) | nothing that (I know of) |
Superlative Expressions with “Que” followed by a Verb
If a superlative expression has a verb in the subordinate clause that follows “que,” the verb should be in the subjunctive. For example:
| C’est la personne la plus honnête que je connaisse. | He is the most honest person that I know. |
| C’est le maximum que vous puissiez faire. | This is the most that you can do. |
Expressions meaning “Although” or “Despite (that)”
The conjunctions “bien que,” “malgré que,” “quoique,” “encore que,” and “même si” all have the meaning of “although,” “even though,” or “despite (that),” and all of them, except “même si,” require the use of the verb in the subjunctive. Here are some examples:
| Il voyage beaucoup bien qu’il ne soit pas riche. | He travels a lot although he is not rich. |
| Il voyage beaucoup malgré qu’il ne soit pas riche. | |
| Il voyage beaucoup quoiqu’il ne soit pas riche. | |
| Il voyage beaucoup encore qu’il ne soit pas riche. | |
| Il voyage beaucoup même s’il n’est pas riche. |
Notice that “même si” is the only conjunction that requires the indicative to convey the same meaning of “although” or “despite that.”
If “même si” is followed by the imperfect, the meaning changes to “even if,” and the preceding phrase is often in the conditional tense, for example:
| Il voyagerait beaucoup même s’il n’était pas riche. | He would travel a lot even if he were not rich. |
Other lessons in Level V:
